Women rallied to protest against widespread rape and sexual abuse as they marked the global 'She Decides Day'

By Alice McCool

LILONGWE, March 2 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Dozens of women took to the streets of Malawi's capital on Monday to protest against sexual violence after a series of alleged police assaults on women last year.

About 90 protesters, most of them women, marched through Lilongwe in silence to mark She Decides Day - a global movement launched in 2017 after organisations that talk about abortion were barred from receiving U.S. government funding.

"I'm here because I am against men raping women each and every day," said Eunice Kachimela, a 13-year-old student from Lilongwe.

"My friend was raped and we took the case to court, which made me so passionate. We need to speak up so things can change."

Chimwemwe Mlombwa, one of the organisers, said some of the protesters chanted a traditional saying that translates as "every girl has a right to decide, don't ruin her future simply because she is a girl".

The march comes amid a rise in feminist activism in Malawi, where rape is widespread, but rarely reported due to stigma, lack of access to the judicial system and a cultural normalisation of sexual abuse.

But the issue burst into the open last year when a number of women and girls accused the police of sexually assaulting them during violence that followed a disputed presidential election in May.

Young activists at the "She Decides" march against sexual violence in Lilongwe, Malawi, on March 2, 2020. Alice McCool/Thomson Reuters Foundation

Malawi's Women Lawyers Association has filed an application for a judicial review, arguing that a "failure to investigate promptly and take action against perpetrators violates the women's constitutional rights".

Police spokesman James Kadadzera said via WhatsApp message the force was currently investigating complaints from 17 women. "Everybody should be assured that we are doing all we can to make sure we finalise the investigations," he said.

Among the protesters on Monday were a small number of female sex workers including Chiletseo Chakungu, 45, who arrived with traditional chitenje (African print fabric) wrapped around her waist and a skirt and fishnet stockings underneath.

"I had to wrap this around me because otherwise I would have been booed or harassed at the vendors market on my way here," said Chakungu. "But I like wearing this and it's my choice."

(Reporting by Alice McCool, Editing by Claire Cozens. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers the lives of people around the world who struggle to live freely or fairly. Visit http://news.trust.org)